Parents help parents in Family Support Council classes

Many parents ask "What should I do when my children are fighting? What should I do when my child has a temper tantrum in the grocery store? How do you handle an 8-year-old who won't clean his room or a 6-year-old who won't take a bath? What should I do when my teen won't come home at curfew or talks back to me?"

Wouldn't it be nice if, as a parent, you could attend a class and learn some effective parenting skills and hear how other parents deal with their parenting dilemmas? Wouldn't it also be nice if you could learn about child development, how to teach your child self-discipline, a sense of responsibility, and give them a healthy self-esteem?

Family Support Council offers parenting classes where you can learn how to look at the long-term goals of parenting, learn skills that can increase your enjoyment and effectiveness as a parent, and get support for yourself as a parent and as a person.

"In a group setting, parents provide encouragement for each other," says Tammy Taylor, coordinator of the Parents and Children Together Program, known as PACT. "They share concerns and soon learn that their problems are not unique. The class discussion and video clips help parents become aware of the purposes for children's misbehavior and become aware of their own reactions and attitudes that may have influenced their children's unacceptable behavior."

Parents develop skills for listening, resolving conflicts and exploring alternatives with their children. They learn how to use encouragement and logical consequences to modify their children's self-defeating motives and behaviors.

They next series of parenting classes at Family Support Council will begin at the end of July. All classes will be held from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on the following dates:

• Parenting Young Children (for the parents of children ages 0-5) Tuesdays, July 26-Sept. 6.

• Effective Parenting (for the parents of children ages 6-12) Wednesdays, July 27-Sept. 7.

• Surviving Your Teen (for parents of teenagers), Thursdays, July 28-Sept. 8.

Call the Family Support Council at 782-8692 or come by the office at 1255 Waterloo Lane in Gardnerville to register for classes. There is a $10 materials fee and free baby-sitting on the premises. Classes are funded by Nevada Children's Trust and Smallwood Foundation.

Family Support Council also offers a lending library with over 500 books and videos available for check out by the public. Subjects include parenting, marriage enrichment, divorce, children with special needs, single and step parenting, adolescence, pregnancy, and child development.

The library is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays. Family Support Council is a nonprofit agency and a United Way partner.

n Heather Held is a parent educator for the Family Support Council. She can be reached at 782-8692.